Brokerages Set Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) Price Target at $84.67

Shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.6667.

SLF has been the topic of several research reports. Argus set a $81.00 price objective on Sun Life Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. National Bank Financial upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sun Life Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sun Life Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 7th.

Sun Life Financial Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE SLF opened at $82.50 on Thursday. Sun Life Financial has a 1-year low of $56.22 and a 1-year high of $84.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $78.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.46. The company has a market cap of $45.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26 and a beta of 0.88.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF) (TSE:SLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $925.99 million. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 17.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 5.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from Sun Life Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Sun Life Financial’s payout ratio is 72.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sun Life Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLF. Louisbourg Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Sun Life Financial by 3.0% in the first quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 5,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 68.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 1.8% in the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 9,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial Inc, founded in 1865 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is an international financial services organization that provides a range of insurance, wealth management and asset management solutions. The company serves individual and institutional clients, offering products designed to protect against life and health risks, help clients save for retirement, and manage investments on behalf of customers and third parties.

Core business activities include life and health insurance, group benefits for employers, retirement and pension products, and wealth management services such as mutual funds and segregated fund solutions.